


Put Your Records On

by AlcoholicWinter



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Flower child and hippie Harry?, Fluff and Angst, Harry is innocent, Homophobic Slurs, Louis cusses a lot, M/M, Minor Character Death, Punk!Louis, cheating but not larry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:18:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlcoholicWinter/pseuds/AlcoholicWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What do you mean, there's some twink prancing around on the telly talking shit about my tattoo parlour, and you expect me to sit here and not type a strongly worded message to him?"</p><p>Or</p><p>Louis is a homophobic tattoo artist, Harry's a gay right's activist, Zayn's a slut, Niall's a beggar, Liam's an idiot, and none of them really even need labels like gay or straight in the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Put Your Records On

**Author's Note:**

> This is old from Wattpad so I made it into a one-shot and changed the POV and it's rambly but it gets better at the end, I promise.

Louis sat on his chair, spinning around before sighing and trying to focus on his paperwork that sat on the desk in front of him. Owning your own business always seemed like a great idea, until you realized how much work you actually had to do. Louis hated work, but he was proud that he owned something of his own so he put up with the bills, taxes, and all the other paperwork. 

Being only 21, owning his own tattoo shop was a huge accomplishment. He graduated early with honors, and got a business degree at Uni. While he may not look, or act like it, he was extremely smart and dedicated when putting his mind to something. He was not the stereotype, though. His hair was tinted red, and he had almost 2 sleeves of tattoos. On a daily basis he would have different piercings, but his favourite was his snakebite piercing on his lip. 

He wore jeans that were snug but not tight, and he has a love for red jeans. His shirts were either sweaters or too-loose tank tops, but his shoes were always TOMs. They were the only shoe he would wear being that they were comfortable and he could work all day in them without any pain. He actually owned dozens of them, it may seem strange but it's what he likes. 

Louis was interrupted by his work when he heard the bell over the door signaling someone entered the shop. He snapped his head up, smirking when he saw his best mate Zayn. Zayn had a few tattoos, but he didn't have any piercings. Louis had known Zayn since elementary school. He remember when his class had taken a trip that was an hour away, and while they were at the museum Louis accidentally pushed Zayn and he broke his leg. Ever since the teacher made Louis apologize, they've been closer but rarely saw each other. 

Now that they were both legal adults, Zayn moved to Doncaster and lived only a few minutes from Louis. Louis' apartment was on the top floor of this store, and it was quite small. It had a bed that pulled down from the wall, and the kitchen was minuscule. It didn't have an oven or a dishwasher machine, but he did have a toaster oven and a large enough sink to wash the plenty of dishes. Louis' meals consisted of mostly take-out and left-overs that his mother sent home when Louis visited her once a week. 

Overall, Louis was a living cliche.

"What are you doing, Tommo?" The raven haired boy greeted, sitting on the tattoo chair and leaning back. 

"Mate, grow the fuck up. Tommo, really, like I'm still a six-year old.." Louis snickered tossing his pen on the table, turning to the boy. 

"Whatever, so what's up?" Zayn scoffed rolling his eyes. 

"Just doing adult shit." Louis chuckled, and Zayn smiled. Zayn had gorgeous brown eyes, eyes that Louis had always admired. He was a good looking lad with nice black hair and a great bone structure. If Zayn hadn't been straight, Louis probably would have had sex with him. 

Louis had almost always known he was gay, but it had never been an issue. He lived in a small town and people had always assumed he was and never really accepted it, though he never confirmed or denied it. Louis knew for a fact they didn't except his tattoos and piercings though. They thought he was just troublesome. While Louis had never done anything illegal, he did love to pull a few pranks. People are just judge mental and assume that if you have piercings and tattoos that you're this punk bad boy (Louis totally was though, not that he'd ever admit that because, please, labels are so not punk rock.). 

While being mischievous, he had gotten a reputation as the bad ass in the town. All the little girls knew to stay away from "That red-headed devil boy" and all the boys knew not to mess with the him. Louis' personality normally shined through the tougher outser shell though, which explains how he got his few close friends. 

There was Niall, who was the happiest lad. He just moved here in the past year, so Louis and him weren't very close, but he seemed fun. He was always happy and had a joy for food. Niall and Louis enjoyed just pigging out and getting wasted together. Niall was Irish so he enjoyed a few pints and was able to handle it more then Louis. 

His other best mate, Liam, was a kid he met in school. Liam was always one of the dorks, and he had been picked on because he never drank. Befriending him was actually a spur of the moment decision. In year 9, Louis had went up to the table Liam was sitting, and he remembered the look of fear in Liam's face before he wrapped his arm around him and offered him some carrots. It automatically broke the ice as Liam laughed at the random moment. Liam was one of the biggest reasons Louis wasn't in jail yet. If it wasn't for him, Louis would probably have a criminal record a mile long. 

Liam was the good boy in town. All the girl's mothers tried to set up dates with him, and all the boys wanted to be him. He was practically the saint that every parent wanted. He was still in Uni, the same one as Zayn and Niall, but he was a year ahead of them. He got good grades, never got in trouble, and he always looked clean. The baddest thing Liam has probably ever done was missing his homework, even then he made it up the next day. 

Louis hated Liam, truly.

Shaking his head, Louis complained and remembered the task at hand,"This is so boring. I have been doing these all day and I've only had one customer. It was some 40 year old guy who I think was going through a mid-life crisis." Zayn saw Louis cringe and chuckled. 

Louis never wanted to grow up. It was something he always said. Though, of course, he may say that, secretly he knew he already had grown up. He lived on his own, he worked, and he was getting grey hairs. He was already a quarter of the way through his life. Yet, he still is a young boy at heart and will be till the day he dies most likely. 

"He got a tattoo on his arm that said freedom." Louis continued, and Zayn shrugged, as if he didn't care. (Did Zayn care about anything?) 

"It could have been worse. Remember when that elderly came in and you had to tattoo his ass?" Zayn and Louis shared a laugh until tears came to their eyes. He had been almost 90, and he said his wife thought tattoos were hot. Louis remembered how he had to hold in his vomit seeing the saggy skin. 

"Hey, it's around lunch time, think you wanna go grab a bite in a few?" Louis asked after calming down a bit. He can feel his stomach practically begging for food since he didn't have time for breakfast this morning. He slept in after working a late shift last night. 

Zayn snickered eyeing Louis before teasing,"Dude you might wanna lay off the fast-food. You're gonna get fat, you already have a big ass. Soon you might not be able to fit those tight as shit jeans!" 

"Hey! My ass is perfectly normal sized," Louis said in defense then smirked,"Besides people like a nice ass." Zayn rolled his eyes as Louis asked once more,"So lunch?" 

"Fine fine, what do you want? McDonald's? Nando's?" Zayn listed off popular places around town. It was a pretty small one so there wasn't many fast food restaurants around. 

Louis pondered for a moment. Niall's been making him go to Nando's often since it's his favorite restaurant and honestly Louis was getting sick of the same thing, He always liked being a little different."I'll say McDonald's." 

"Sounds good, when do you get off?" Zayn asked looking at the clock. 

"Normally it takes me only a few minutes to get off." Louis said with a smirk, before he continue. "In about 20 minutes. Anyways, do you-" Louis was cut off when the bell over the store rang again. In walked a girl who looked to be about his younger sisters age. She had a look of fear across her face. She was only about 12, and her long blonde hair was in two neat pigtails. She wore a light blue dress and flat shoes. She looked like a scared angel. 

"Can I help you? Are you lost sweetie?" Louis rushed over to her, crouching down to her height. Louis had always loved children, especially little girls since he had grown up having to do his sisters hair and play dress-up with them. He actually always wanted a child, not until he's older though because hello, he was still a child. (Man? He was in his twenties. Man-Child seemed appropriate.)

"No, I want a tattoo." She said, firmer now. 

Louis raised his eyebrow in shock. "Do you have your parent's signature?" He asked, and she shook her head, not that her having a signiature would be relevant since she still looked young.

"I'm 13. The website says I can get it on my own." She was a bit older than she looked, and Louis didn't really care either way. He had gotten illegal tattoos when he was younger so he understood. 

The thing was, that as a tattoo artist you were supposed to talk to the people you tattoo before you actually do it. You were supposed to ask them over and over again if they really wanted it, and if they sounded even slightly hesitant, then you shouldn't. Then again, Louis never did things by the norm.

"Well. Come sit on the chair and tell me what you want." He said, and pushed Zayn off the chair. He fell to the ground with a 'oompf' before getting up dusting his jeans. 

"Ey, man! Not cool." Zayn said as sat on the chair where Louis previously was, and looked at the girl who seemed calmer then she was walking in. 

"What's your name?" He asked, trying to use his soothing voice. 

She smiled at him,"My names Annabelle." 

"So, Annabelle, what tattoo would you like and where?" He hoped she wouldn't want it somewhere dirty or inappropriate. He would just feel weird doing it, especially since she's a young child. 

"I want a quote from the bible on my arm." She said, pulling out the paper from her pocket and showing him the line she had written down. 

It said "A man shall not be with a male as he does with a woman. It is an abomination." Louis' lips turning into a grim line, but he handed her a book with all the fonts. 

"Choose your font." Louis didn't want to give her the tattoo, but he also didn't want to judge her. It was her body and she could write what she wanted on it. He hated being judged and he's not going to do the same. 

She picked a frilly one, almost cursive, saying that she wanted it in a light blue. He drew it on her arm, showing her what it would look like. She smiled, nodding, and as he started giving her the tattoo she didn't even flinch. She seems like a brave girl, which wasn't surprising considering she walked in a parlor at the age of 13. 

"Wow, you're tough," He commented with a smirk.

She gave Louis a weak smile. "I'm used to needles. I have cancer and...I'm going to die in a few months. So I might as well die with the lord's words in my body." Annabelle's voice softened, almost breaking in pitch, but the word's sounded rehearsed in a way, as if she was used to telling people, like it was a casual thing.

Louis felt his heart drop as a frown made its way to his face. No little girl should ever have to go through this. He felt a little better knowing that him doing this would make her happy. He felt sort of like a genie giving the girl her last wish. He was the only tattoo parlour in this town, the next one being almost an hour away. Since that, he does get plenty of business so it works in his advantage. 

He finished the tattoo, and rubbed it with cream then instructed, "Now, make sure to wrap it when you shower and put this cream on for the first month." He handed her it, and she went to her pocket about to get the money, however Louis shook his head. 

"No, keep it. First one is free." He insisted. She grinned and he leaned down giving her a hug. 

"Thanks, Mister Louis." She pulled back from the embrace and skipped out of there while Louis smiled as felt like he had done such a good thing.  
He couldn't have been any more wrong, though.  
_

Louis locked the door, rubbing his head. Today had been boring. It's been almost a week since he had heard from the little girl, and he's only had about ten customers this week. Business has been running slow suddenly, and now he is was wishing he had been at Uni so at least he would have some party to go to this weekend or homework or bloody fucking anything than just walking home. Zayn was waiting for him upstairs though, so he quickly put the 'closed' sign on the door. Grabbing the tiny safe with the money, he headed upstairs. 

Zayn was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels. "Order food." He said, and Louis rolled his blue eyes. 

"Well, alright master," He said sarcastically. He picked up my phone, and started dialing the number for Nando's. It wasn't his favourite restaurant (bloody Niall.) but Zayn liked it well enough He ordered them some food and some extra for breakfast tomorrow, before hanging up the phone and tossing it to the side. 

"It should be here in a half hour. I'm going to go shower. Don't eat all my food and don't break anything." Zayn held his hands up defensively causing Louis to roll his eyes once more. He had always been the cheeky one, but Zayn was too sarcastic sometimes. 

Grabbing a change of clothes, he headed into the bathroom. He turned the shower onto burning hot, and stepped in. It stung his sensitive skin, especially on his most recent tattoo. It was a small heart with stitches on it on his left hip. It didn't symbolize anything, however most of his tattoos don't. The hot water was making it hurt a lot, but Lou thrived on the pain. It reminded him that he was just human, and that he didn't have to be perfect. 

He began washing his hair, sighing. Louis loved to take showers, but he was just stressed out. He had a strange feeling like people have been talking about him behind his back and he didn't understand why. Normally the people in the town would openly tell him that they were disgusted with his tattoos and piercings, but this seems like something else is going on. 

Not that anyone had been acting strange, but still. It wasn't like he had been stared at any more than usual when he went to the supermarket for toilet paper yesterday, and no one had laughed at him behind his back, but still. A strange sensation.

Rinsing out his hair, grabbing his body wash and looking at it, he smiled. It was cinnamon scented, something his sisters had bought him every year for Christmas. For his birthday which happened to be Christmas Eve, they would buy him a new set of wash cloths. They thought it was cute, so he pretended to think it was the most amazing present every year. Him and his sisters get along quite well. At first they were frightened at his appearance, however they knew him before the change so it didn't bother them as much. 

Maybe he should visit them some time.

He turned off the shower once he was done, grabbing a towel and rubbing his hair with it. Louis' hair was pretty low maintenance, all he had to do was let it dry and then some days he would even backcomb it into a style that goes upwards into and old-style quiff. Once his hair was dry enough, he began to get dressed. 

He pulled on his cloth Calvin Klein boxers, them clinging high on his hips. He had always had a more feminine body, only recently having gotten more muscles from all the hard work and lifting the equipment at the store. His biceps were huge, but he also still had slender abs so my hips and stomach were a bit feminine. He didn't mind though, he liked his body and rarely was he insecure about his appearance. 

He then pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants, rolling them up to his ankles. On top, he pulled on a loose fitting tank-top shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. Some days it was hard to recognize him. He had all these tattoos and piercings and he didn't look like plain Louis any more. He looked like some trouble maker, when really he was just as nice as any other guy out there. He was just misunderstood. He was more of a confused child then a misbehaved one, though his mother would attest to that.

He rubbed his face, groaning. Now wasn't the time for this. He threw the dirty clothes and wet towels into the laundry basket before heading back into the living room.  
"Good, mate, come here. You need to see this." Zayn said from the couch, Louis walking over and plopping himself next to boy and leaning over the arm of the couch. On the television was some boy who looked a bit...flamboyant. 

He was wearing a pink flowered- crown on his head with a matching light pink v-neck. He looked to be wearing skinny jeans with it and a few rainbow bracelets. "I think it's disgusting." He said in a posh deep accent to the newswoman who must be interviewing him for something. The subtitles said 'Man encourages anti-gay' Louis frowned, thinking it was the curly-haired boy who was anti-gay until he spoke up again. 

"I did some research on this place before I came here today. Louis Tomlinson from Doncaster, is the owner. He gave a 13 year old girl a tattoo with an anti-gay quote. And it's a disgrace. People should never have to be hated on by simple things like that. It's the same with common decency. If you want to get a tattoo of say....a pair of breasts, you can't just get it on your arm and show it off all the time. It would offend people." 

Louis stared at the screen, shocked, the man however continued to talk. "I also went to the house of this girl to ask why she would do this. She said that if she's going to die, she's suffering from cancer, that she wants to make a statement. She said that all gay people should be killed and go to hell. A little thirteen year old girl said this." 

The boy on the screen looked up, tears welling up in his green eyes before he cleared his throat and continued sounding slightly hoarse,"This could all be prevented if her parents wouldn't have raised her that way. It is as simple as her parents saying 'some guys like guys' and that is it. " He continued on with his rant on how people have to fix this.  
Louis sat there flabbergasted,"That bastard!" 

Zayn shrugged, seeming nonchalant about the whole thing. "It's a bit ironic that you gave an anti-gay tattoo," Zayn said. 

Louis narrowing his eyes at him. "You know I don't judge." 

Zayn shrugged again, and Louis grabbed his laptop. He was angry and wanted to search this man and hunt him down. Going onto google, he easily found his website. His name was apparently Harold Edward Styles, and he was 19. It gave a short bio about him, and then told us about his work. Louis clicked his biography first, wanting to know more about this man who was ruining his career. 

-Hello, I'm Harold Styles. I was raised in a nice home with a nice family, but my father was anti-gay. He left when I was younger, so i never thought much of it, but when I was 16 and questioning my sexuality, I realized how wrong he was. My step-father and birth mother helped me through coming out, and I just want people and other children to know that it's okay. Everything is okay. Whether you're gay, straight, bisexual, trans, anything, IT IS OKAY. I run a charity group that goes from school to school called G2BG, which stands for "Good to be gay". While we don't influence children to be gay, we influence them to be comfortable and proud of who they are.- 

Louis narrowed his eyes scoffing slightly. He sounded like some hippie. The world wasn't like that. People would never accept others for who they are, and Louis knew that all too well. He continued searching, clicking on the -contact me- tab, and looked at the ways to contact him. He had a work number, an email, and a hotline number, so Louis decided to take the email. He was too angry to speak. 

He started typing, sending him a rude message and telling him how he should keep his opinion to himself. Zayn put his hand on Lou's shoulder. "Mate, chill out." 

He shrugged his hand off sneering at the computer, "Just don't want him to ruin this business for me." The truth was, Louis hated him for more than that. 

Why should he be famous and happy because his parents loved him for being gay? Not everyone was that lucky. Louis family didn't know he was gay, but he knew the town would shun him. Everyone here was traditional, so they would try to run him out of town. The last person who came out- a young girl named Marie in his grade- had been bullied so severely she commited suicide. He still got shivers when he thought about it. 

That could have been him. He remember when he almost came out once in year 6. It was when he started having strange feelings for Zayn. Louis remembered when he grabbed Zayn's hand, and he had pulled away. He told him what he was feeling and Zayn explained that he didn't care, but that he didn't want Louis to be bullied. Zayn was always more deep and thoughtful about those things than Louis did. 

After sending the email, Louis left Zayn the food. Now after all the recent news he wasn't that hungry anymore. He made himself a quick cup of tea, and headed to bed. Tomorrow he would have to deal with all his feelings of anger, but for now he just wanted to sleep and ignore the world. 

Louis had a pleasant dream about taking that flower crown and shoving it up the goody-two-shoed hippie's arse.

_  
Sitting up in bed, Louis glanced around. It was too early to be up. Normally he wouldn't roll out of bed until 9 or so, and then open up the store. Checking the clock, he groaned; 6:30am. 

He checked his phone, seeing a few messages from some miscellaneous people, and one from Zayn that was marked important. Last time Zayn sent an important message it was because his ex girlfriend Perrie had cheated. Zayn had been torn, so Louis had to stay with him for almost two weeks before he recovered. Unlike Louis, Zayn wasn't afraid of love. It's not that Louis doesn't believe in it, it's just he feels that love is a time consuming and useless waste of time. 

Louis opened the text message, scrolling and reading it. All it was was a link to a video. He set his phone down, rubbing his eyes. It was too early to deal with this. He got up and groggily headed into the small kitchen area, sticking his tea into the microwave. He hated leftover tea, but he was too tired to even consider making a full brew.  
After he sat down and took a few sips, he was awake enough to function. This was a good thing. He could go to the store and pick up a bit of milk and a few more frozen meals. He was running dangerously low and he wasn't exactly bringing in enough money to have take-out every night. Since that curly haired hippie was going to ruin his career he barely had enough money to have a decent meal. 

Weren't hippies supposed to be nice?

He suddenly remembered the video (Okay, maybe he only remembered his phone because he remembered a video of some hippie kissing homeless people on the street, but whatever.) and grabbed his phone. He opened the message and pressed play, turning the volume up with his thumb. At first it was just the camera shaking around to the point it was incomprehensible, but soon it focused on a man. A boy, actually. The boy from yesterday who had said the rude things about his parlor. 

"It's an abomination! He sent me a message, acting as if I was the bad man. Louis Tomlinson of Doncaster needs a reality check. We, as people, need to love the gay community! We need to be accepted!" The crowd cheered, and he continued, adjusting his flower crown. What kind of grown man wears a flower crown anyways? Louis scoffed. 

"I will be driving to Doncaster some point this week to speak with him in person. I won't be bringing my news team with me, though. I don't want to intimidate him. He just needs to realize that giving tattoos like this means encouraging segregation! What if he had given a racist tattoo? We need discrimination to stop!" The crowd cheered, and soon they were all swarming around him asking questions as reporters shoved around trying to get to him. 

Louis couldn't understand any of it, but he did hear one question. "What if Mr. Tomlinson refuses to change?" The camera zoomed in, a bit too much, on Harold's face and he gave the camera a direct look. "Change is a slow process, he just needs to see the rainbow coloured-light." Louis groaned, turning his phone onto it's back. 

He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands and tugging lightly at his hair. This was so stupid. All he had done was give a little girl a tattoo. Was it that bad to give her her last dying wish? Louis didn't believe in all that religious bullshit, but if that little girl believed getting that tattoo would help her get into heaven, then who is he to judge. He believes what he did was right, that he did nothing wrong. 

He grabbed his keys, shrugging on a jean jacket, and heading out the door. It was bitterly cold, but there wasn't much of a breeze so it was manageable. He started walking on the sidewalk to the store. If he had lived in another town, there would likely be a riot. Instead, he lives in Doncaster. Here, no one cared if you hated gay people. Most people actually did. 

Louis sighed, walking into the small market. This was one of the few stores that he liked. It wasn't a huge cooperation, just owned my a small man and his family. The man was bitter and cheeky and he always seemed like he was angry. But that wasn't why Louis had liked him. The man's daughter, a young girl who was about 13, had confided in Louis that she was gay and the only one who knew was her father. 

Louis had almost screamed in frustration when she said that. He didn't want the horrible people in this town to hate her,especially her father. But she then told Louis that her father said she could love anyone she wanted, as long as they were nice. Louis respected the man now. He gave him a wave, only get a disgruntled noise in response, but Louis smiled as he shopped. 

He only grabbed the basics; a bit of milk, loaf of bread and about a dozen of those microwaveable meals. He also splurged a bit and picked up a box of Maltezers. He smiled, licking his lips at the thought. 

He never really liked sweets until he was older. Having little sisters, he was used to always having them beg for sweets. He would even sneak treats to them, even now. Maybe later he would visit them while his mother was at work. His father had left them a year ago, since then Louis has begun visiting more frequently. Since only girls live there it's as if he's the man of the house, even if he doesn't live with them. 

Louis didn't hate his mother, far from it. She was one of his idols. She was an independent woman and even the divorce didn't break her spirit down. Louis would still be living with her if she hadn't found his collection of gay porn. She hadn't been upset, she had calmly explained that having urges is fine, but she then said something that stuck in Louis mind and always made him cringe. 

"It's okay to appreciate other men's bodies, but you like girls." 

This was 2013, he figured people should be more evolved then that. He didn't choose the fact that he is attracted to both men, it just happened. He had tried to do what his mother wanted. When he was about 14, he stated dating a girl named Hannah Walker. She was sweet and innocent and a bit cheeky. 

She was the kind of girl that all the guys at school wanted to date. She was the angel of the town. When Louis asked her out, she had said no the first 4 times. Finally, Louis wore her down and she agreed. They dated for only 5 months, and it was the only real relationship he had ever had. She was nice enough, but she wanted to go to Uni and raise a family, while he wanted to focus on getting his career started. They ended things on fine terms. 

Since then, Louis has had a long string of lovers. Most were girls, but that was only because he didn't bother traveling to different towns for gays bars anymore. At first he was hoping to find a serious relationship, but he quickly realized that wouldn't happen. No one would ever love him, maybe he's just to picky and stubborn. Louis wanted a kind of relationship like in all those movies his sister's made him watch, not that those were realistic at all, because, hello, no one fakes a marriage proposal and dances to inappropriate songs in the woods. Anyways. 

Instead, he got tons of sex. He wasn't complaining. He liked sex. All kinds. Oral, anal, vaginal, heck, sometimes he even liked being a bit kinky. But he wanted love. Love is a feeling he'd never felt. He knew his sisters loved him, but it wasn't the same. He wanted to be in love and to be loved. 

Sighing, he shook his hair out and went to pay for the food. "Hey Paul." 

He glanced at me for a second before asking,"Did you get another piercing?" 

Louis reached his hand to his ear instinctively, and realized he had fallen asleep with a piercing in. "Oh. Yeah, about a week ago." 

He nodded ringing him out, and Louis started counting his money. He only carried a few pounds on him, just in case he was ever mugged and lost it all. 

"So, how's the kids?" Louis asked trying to create conversation. He's a rather chatty and friendly person. (Shut up, he totally was.)

Paul smiled a bit. He only ever seemed happy when he was talking about his family. "Little Emilia lost her first tooth so she's proud. She refuses to put it under her pillow though.  
And Luke has a crush on a little girl at school, she's coming over for dinner tomorrow. And little Katherine well....She said she has a girlfriend." He rubbed the back of his neck, and Louis just smiled. 

"Good for her. How's the wife?" Louis knew he felt a bit uncomfortable about that subject, so he quickly changed the subject. 

"She's pregnant again, it's our fourth kid," Paul chuckled slightly, he really loves children unlike most men who would feel overwhelmed. 

"Wonderful! Maybe you need a babysitter again?" Louis suggested. 

He nodded. "Yeah. Me and her are going on our baby-moon sometime next month so we'll need you to watch the kids for a week or so." Louis nodded as well.  
The kids liked for Louis to give them fake tattoos at the parlor so they were easy to entertain, plus he was good with children and only a few minutes away. He could also start saving up to add on to the store if he started babysitting on the side again. It could help with the money situation. 

Leaving the store, Louis carried his bag and waved goodbye. As he headed back home, he thought today was going to be a great day. 

_

Louis woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He noticed the caller I.D and quickly picked it up, pressing answer saying irritably, "Zayn. What." 

He chuckled, "Morning sleeping beauty. I can't come in to help today like I promised. But you still need to open the store. Remember?" 

Louis groaned, realizing he must have slept in too late, "Thanks for calling mate. What do you have to do that's so busy?" 

He could imagine Zayn shrugging on the other end of the line. "Stuff." 

Louis sighed, saying goodbye and hanging up. Zayn would tell him tomorrow. He rushed into the bathroom, brushing his teeth again and starting to fix his hair. Instead of the upwards style, he styled it downwards into a slight fringe. He noticed the fading color and realized he would have to re-dye the roots soon, his natural light brown causing the red to look more orange at the top. 

He sighed, grabbing the safe of money and heading downstairs. He set it down, grabbing the key to unlock the door. As he did, Louis noticed someone standing outside on their phone talking. They were facing the other direction, but it was clear that it was a male and a tall one. He ignored him, figuring he had a gun so I'd be safe if he tried to harm him. As soon as Louis unlocked the door, the man rushed inside and hung up his phone frantically. 

"Louis Tomlinson?" He asked, and Louis looked up. Instantly his entire face falling. It was him. That curly-haired boy from the television. He was seriously wearing a flower crown that was pink to match his shirt. 

Louis groaned, covering his face, "Go away you bastard. You could have ruined my business." 

He gave a polite smile, holding his hand out to shake mine. "I'm Harold, but I'm sure you already know that seeing as you're displeased with my appearance in your shop." He spoke so formally, like he was too posh to be at a place like this. When Louis just gared at him, he dropped his hand and cleared his throat trying to cover up his hurt expression.  
"I actually came to apologize. I went and confronted that little girl's family. I talked to them, and they said that their daughter was struggling with...personal things." Harold continued speaking, but seemed uncomfortable. 

"She's dying of Cancer. " Louis said bluntly, stomach feeling a bit sick at the words. 

"Yes. And her parents said when she was in the hospital she was....brainwashed...by those Christian television preachers. So I can understand how she could be so confused at a young age about homosexuality." He sat down on the chair in front of the counter, slouching a bit as his tone was more upset, "I tried to talk to her, but she called me some ... crude words so I decided to come apologize to you before I apologized formally in an interview." 

Louis perked up a bit, leaning forward so that they were a bit closer. His elbows propped his head up on the counter as he asked,"Apology, huh? For what?" 

Harold smiled at him, and Louis noticed he had dimpled. Seriously? "Well, I read your signs outside while I was waiting and I saw all the 'no questions asked' policy. So you likely didn't ask or even question internally why she would want such a tattoo. No harm done, I suppose. " 

Harold wasn't as bad as Louis thought he was. He was here apologizing, in person, which took a lot of courage. Louis smiled softly as he replied,"Well, no harm done as long as you tell people that others can be homophobes and to get over it." That changed Harry's whole demeanor. He sat up straight, almost glaring at the blue eyed boy. 

"No. This is a new century. Ignorant people need to realize that we do not choose to be gay. We do not choose what gender we like. We don't choose to be born a girl feel like a boy. We don't choose any of this, we are born this way. Even if I could choose to like girls, I don't think I would. Who cares if I did choose to be this way? I'm still human. So, I'm attracted to males. I'm attracted to you. That doesn't mean I should be treated like some kind of animal!" He ranted incoherently, the words slow and long and deep, as Louis just rolled his eyes. 

"Might want to keep your mouth shut, Curly. This entire town is as homophobic as it gets." When he said that, Harold pulled out what looked like a personal planner. Do people still use those? 

The bell rung signaling a customer walked in and Louis sighed,"Look, it's been great talking to you and all, but I have a customer." 

He gave Louis a small wave of his hand not even looking up,"I'm not leaving. I'll stay out of your way." 

He was a bit uncomfortable being watched, but didn't want to kick him out. He wasn't going to be rude for no reason. Louis walked over to the familiar girl, smiling. "Hello, Perrie." 

She smiled, hugging him loosely. She was short, but still almost the same height as him. She always came to the store, but mainly for her other friends. She only got tattoos occasionally. 

"I want a neck piercing." She said confidently after he asked why she was here. 

"You know it's going to hurt to sleep for a while? And it might leave a red spot." Louis explained, he liked to warn his customers about consequences just in case they changed their minds. Normally he wouldn't bother since if people were stupid enough to not research a piercing before getting it, then they deserved it, but it was Perrie and Zayn loves (Loved? Who the fuck knows anymore.) so he did.

She nodded, so he just wrote it down on the list. He grabbed the array of neck piercings, handing them to her. "Pick whatever colour you want. I have to go get the anti-septics and bandages." She nodded glancing at the opinions. Louis knew she would pick one of the girliest studs there was. 

He walked past Harold, going behind the counter to get the stuff. "You do piercings?" He asked, and Louis nodded. 

"Yeah. They're easy enough and so far I've never had to pierce anyones labia so." Harold blushed furiously, and stammered a bit before looking down. Louis just smirked, chuckling while walking back over. So Harold didn't like girl jokes, Louis realized. 

"Ready, Perrie?" He asked, and she flinched a bit. 

"Where is Zayn?" She asked, unflinching and pulling her hair up as she spoke. Louis could tell she was just making conversation to distract herself from the pain she was about to have. 

"Don't know. Probably a date or something." He said beginning to get all the equipment. 

She nodded, smiling weakly, "Good for him!" 

Zayn always went out on tons of dates. Since he was straight, he got to go on dates with all the girls of the town without judgment. Sure, some of the mothers thought he was dangerous, but Louis knew Zayn was a virgin and the worst thing he did was smoke a fag once in a while. He was really a sweetheart, it's just the outer look threw off everyone into thinking he's some badboy. 

Him and Perrie had a past where she cheated, and now they seemed close, but more in a best friends manner than dating. He never asked either of them why, he just accepted it. Sighing, Louis focused on what he had to do. "Yeah. How are you? Got a new boyfriend yet?" He asked, and she blushed a bit so hr smirked figuring he picked a good topic. 

As He cleaned her neck, she told him all about this boy Niall she had been seeing. She said he was Irish but was here for Uni. "But there is something strange about that boy." She sighed, closing her eyes tightly as he quickly shoved the needle into her neck. Soon enough, it was over with and she had the sparkly pink and purple neck piercing in. 

I gave her an ice pack instructing, "Hold this on your neck for the rest of the day. It would be good if you came back in in a week for me to check it. Some people's skin acts differently towards the piercing." 

She nodded, handing him the 400 pounds before hugging him around the neck. She kissed his cheek quickly, and waved before rushing off in a hurry to show all of her friends.  
Walking back to the counter, Louis went to get the wipes to clean the chair, completely forgetting Harold was here. He raised an eyebrow at the curly boy,"Still here? Don't have some parade to do and make out with guys and wear rainbows?" 

He frowned,"Some boys like boys, Mr. Tomlinson, and you need to grow up about it." Louis was about to chuckle, until he realized Harold must think he's homophobic. Louis smirked a bit, knowing how wrong that was. 

Since he didn't live in this town, and wouldn't tell anyone, Louis decided it wouldn't matter if he told him."I'm one of those boys who likes boys. Get over that." He said, squatting down to pick up the bottle of lemon-scented wipes. When Louis stood back up, Harold's eyes were bulging out of his head. 

"Oh. Well. Oh. Uhm. Well." He stammered unaware of what to say. 

Louis just chuckled, "Don't act so surprised. Just because I live in a homophobic town doesn't mean I'm a wanker."

Harold took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead. He asked in confusion, "If you're gay why would you do an anti-gay tattoo for someone then?" 

Louis simply pointed to the sign on the door, and he nodded as if that made perfect sense. 

"Well. Wheres your...partner?" He asked. 

Louis chuckled, amused at his choice in words, "I call them my boyfriend, and I currently don't have one." He never had one, he wanted to say, but figured it'd be best if he didn't. He'd had sex multiple times, and it was quite enjoyable, but he had never had a serious relationship. Well besides Hannah, though he didn't count that as a serious relationship. 

"Louis? Louis?" 

He flinched as he felt a large, really large, hand on he shoulder. He looked down to see Harry was shaking him gently. "You zoned out a bit there. " He said, and only removed his hand after Louis glared at it. 

"So, can I see your tattoos?" He asked, and Louis shook my head. "

Nope. They're for me to see and no one else." Louis chuckled, and went to wipe off the chair, but Harold grabbed the wipes preventing Louis from cleaning. 

"Here, I can help out. I might be in town for a while anyways. Maybe I'll even get a few tattoos myself while I'm here." He offered and chuckled, wiping the chair down with precision. Louis felt my heart race. 

He was going to have to deal with him for more than one day? He groaned, rubbing his head in frustration. "Why are you here? There is no gay pride shit in this town." He cleaned off the counter, even though it was already clean. 

Harold just smiled , "Not yet." 

Oh no. 

After Harold left after about an hour of just looking around the shop and observing everything like a curious child, Louis re-arranged things a bit. He moved the piercing table closer to the tattoos. He hoped it would cause more people to get them. He looked up as he heard the bell click, and groaned out loud. He was supposed to close in less than a half hour, and any type of tattoo would take at least an hour. 

"Glad you missed me." He snapped his head up, seeing it was Harry and Zayn. Harry had a black eye and his lip was bleeding. Louis snickered, but then he became a bit worried. 

"What happened?" He asked, trying to act nonchalantly. Zayn walked past him to go behind the counter, grabbing a bag of crisps.  
Harry pointed to him saying sheepishly,"Your friend here thought the best way to handle me talking shade at your business was to kick me in the...erm....private area. It took me a good five minutes to fight him off, and another five minutes to explain to him." 

Louis laughed, earning a glare from Harry. "How was I supposed to know?" Zayn yelled defensively from his seat. 

"As much as I'm oh-so worried about you Harold, I'm about to close and I would rather stab knives into my eyes then associate with you. So-" He gestured to the door, and he stiffened, crossing his arms. He didn't want to have to talk to Harold more than he already did. 

"That was a bit rude. I apologized and you've forgiven me, why are you still mad?" He sat on the tattoo chair and Louis groaned. He just wanted to get rid of him. It was just something about this boy. 

Something about how his curly hair made no sense. Or the childlike-innocent way he carried himself. He wore that damned flower-crown and he spoke like a royalty. He seemed posh, stuck up, sort of Like one of the kids who had been too 'good' to hang out with Louis at school. 

"I don't really need to be seen talking to the king of the gays." He said, snidely. For a second Harold looked genuinely hurt. His entire face looked in a mixture of shock and pain, before he recovered and put on a forced smile. 

"Maybe you need a lesson. More than 75% of everyone in the UK has considered their sexual orientation. About 43% are unsure about it. More than 90% have had fantasies about sex with someone of the same gender. There is nothing wrong with liking the same gender, or not liking the same gender. You need to stop being the ignorant one. Who I -or anyone else- choose to love or fuck is none of your business and it gives you no right to be rude to me or anyone else who is interested in the opposite gender." 

Louis was shocked at what Harold was assuming, looking at him in horror. "You think I hate gay people, still? Fuck, Zayn. Get me a beer." Louis ordered, rubbing his head dramatically. all this stress was too much for him to handle. He could tell Zayn rolled his eyes without even glancing at him. Harry looked at him and he could clearly see he was wondering if Louis' sanity was in tact. 

"I'm gay," He said, and Harold looked rolled his eyes at the speed of light.

Louis quickly replied in a border-line rude way that was meant to be cheeky,"Not all homos prance around in flower-hats and shirts that say 'i like dick' with rainbows on it."  
He clutched his heart, and smirked. "My heart. You insulted my flowers." 

I laughed, "Besides i'm pretty sure i told you this earlier. Were you not listening?" 

Harry smiled, and god damnit, a dimple showed. "Yes, my dear Louis, but you see, gay people can be homophobic as well."

Harold chuckled and Louis appreciating him a bit more then he thought. He sort of enjoyed that he could keep up with his cheeky banter. Louis grabbed the book of font-styles for tattoos and put it behind the counter, reaching over Zayn. He was too busy texting on his phone to even realize he's in the way. Louis rolled his eyes and pushed him, he just waved and went upstairs to his apartment. 

"Don't leave me alone with him!" Louis called up, before realizing Harry could clearly hear him. Shit. 

"Why don't you like me?" He asked sounding slightly hurt, but chuckled. 

Louis grabbed the cleaning wipes and handed them to him. "You're living in a fairy tale and you're wearing god damn flowers. But if I must put up with you, at least help me clean up." 

He took the whole box of wipes from him as he started cleaning everything up himself. Louis obviously didn't complain, he was happy to not have to do anything. He took his seat, watching as Harold cleaned up. 

"I like the flowers. I did get beat up a bit in school when I wore them, though." He chuckled, and he bent over to wipe the bottom of the counter. Louis carelessly checked out his ass- Hey, he am gay afterall- and almost groaned. He had no bottom! He obviously wasn't even that attractive, so he probably was beat up for that as well. 

"And I don't live in a fairy tale. If I did, then gay people would have the same rights." He continued talking, and Louis rolled his eyes. 

"Who even cares?" Louis asked, leaning back in the seat. He had never personally been affected by unequal rights, he didn't think any gay people actually were. He's hardly seen anything besides harmless words. 

"I care! Don't you read the news? Every day, people are KILLED, COMMIT SUICIDE, or LIVES ARE RUINED!" He yelled, turning to look at him with an appalled face, "19% of all gay teens commit suicide! Christians and certain other religions BAN gay people to partake in that religions culture! Many businesses won't let you shop there! My mum's best friend killed herself when she was in high school because she was gay and her parents even disowned her. Parents abuse gay children. Kids at school are mocked endlessly and ridiculed. They are told they are worth less, and they are told that their lives mean nothing just because they like the same gender." 

Harold looked at Louis before setting the things on the counter. "How can you say that no one should care?" His entire face was red from yelling, and to be honest Louis was a bit taken back. He didn't know any of that ever happened. Actually, he knew in the back of his mind, but to actually have to face these issues was awful. 

Harold rubbed his face, taking off his crown and swooshed his curls slight. "I....I can't do this." He sighed, heading to the door. He stood in the doorway, it half open, glancing back at Louis. "I'm sorry for yelling I just...can't." And with that, he was gone. 

_

Louis missed him a bit. 

It has been an entire week since he last saw Harold, and life has gone back to the way it was. Waking up, working all day, and spending nights with Zayn. It was Friday night, and Zayn and Louis were going to a gay bar an hour away. Zayn was starting to get worried about Louis. He hasn't had a decent relationship, so he's forcing him to go in hopes of finding a cute guy. TO be honest, Louis wanted to just stay home and maybe read a nice book or even go visit his mother. He was visitng her tomorrow, but he still would have enjoyed spending an extra day with her. 

It was only 3, so the tattoo shop wasn't close to being closed yet. He had five more hours of working, and so far the shop only had two customers today. Since he'd saved money and put an advertisement in the paper, people from the surrounding areas have been visiting him. The business has been picking up and he has made more this week then he had all month. 

"Mate! My girlfriend says I can't get my ear pierced," Louis heard the bell ring and then saw a familiar face walk in. 

"Hey, Liam. Well, you're just a whipped little bitch, huh?" He teased, organizing the piercing needles. 

He rolled his eyes, though began blushing a bit."I think I might break up with her...Ever since we....split....And got back together things haven't been the same." 

Liam and his girlfriend Danielle have been together since they were in year 8. They were always the 'perfect' couple. Liam was the star of the wrestling team and Danielle was the leader of the dance squad. They looked great together and Liam was madly in love with her. Everyone thought they were one of those teen couples who'd end up getting married.

A while back, Danielle told Liam she had cheated when she had went away with her dance squad for a competition. It tore Liam apart, and he was in such a depression for months. He confided in Louis that they'd never had sex, and Dani had told him that was one of the reasons she had sex with someone else. She didn't want to date a prude. It honestly shocked Louis to hear she had said that. She always seemed like such a nice girl, Liam was in tears after that. It was hard comforting Liam considering he's usually the one doing all the comforting. 

They did make up a few months later, Liam basically begging her to take him back. He was happy, but now it seemed as if it was all pointless. He was stressed and he truly was trying to make things work. However, he was always overwhelmed and has been spending more time in Doncaster than usual. 

"Sometimes things just aren't meant to be." Louis said, cleaning a needle that he had just used to pierce some guy's naval. The bloke had been drunk, but hr really couldn't care less because he paid for it. If people come in and ask for something it's their own choice so Louis just goes with it. 

Liam sat on the tattoo chair, spinning in it a bit carelessly. He shrugged, looking down, "I guess that's fine." He sighed and suddenly asked,"Would you mind cutting my hair? I feel like...Maybe this is going to be a good thing. Maybe I can find someone else who can make me happy. Shave my head then pierce my ears." He said, confidently but Louis could tell he was nervous. 

"Are you sure?" He asked. Louis did not want him to regret it. He'd always had long hair, sort of the same way Louis styled it in high school. He shuddered, remembering how glad he was getting his haircut. 

"Yeah, come on. Let's go over here." Louis lead him to the corner of the shop, sitting him in a chair. He grabbed some hair clippers that he used, sometimes he like to trim the sides of his hair. 

"Don't move, I don't want to cut off your ear." He said, and Liam chuckled lightly, his eyes crinkling slightly.His laugh was nice to hear sort of relaxing. 

As He started shaving off all his hair, he wondered what it must be like. Louis had always been impulsive. He dyed his hair, and got his first tattoo the same way. Everything Louis had ever done was always in the moment. Sex, love, tattoo, piercings, everything. He was always a carefree and live in the moment guy. 

But Liam was different. He always planned things so carefully and he was a fun guy, though he was concerned with consequences. He tried not to say things that would hurt someone's feelings, and he was always kind to people. He never tried drugs in high school, and he never bullied anyone. Liam was just a sweet and caring type of person who always put others before himself. 

Louis at times wishes he could be more like that. "Liam? How do you always do the right thing?" He asked, holding his hand on his forehead so the hair falling to the ground wouldn't land in his mouth or eyes. 

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused. 

"You're always so smart and think things through. You've never done anything radical..." Louis then added,"Well, until now." 

He gave a small shrug, sighing. "I think I'm afraid of failure. When you're afraid to fail, you do everything you can to prevent it." Louis thought about it. It seemed so simple. Do good things, good things would happen. 

Maybe if he was nicer to people, maybe if he was more concerned for Zayn and Niall and Liam, maybe if he started being more compassionate he would live a better life and not always feel like a failure. But, it's always easier said then done. 

"Well, alright. Your hair is cut, but are you sure you want to get pierced?" Louis asked, bending slightly to come to eye level with him. 

"Yes. Do it. Both ears." He closed his eyes waiting for the pain. 

Louis sighed, he grabbed the antiseptic, starting to clean all the hair and fuzz off of his ear. He warned, "This is going to pinch for a second." 

Louis shoved the needle in and Liam let out a whine. Louis laughed snickering slightly, "Oh come on. 8-year-old girls do this at home every day with a potato. I'm sure you can manage." He sent him a glare, but soon they both laughed as Louis put in a plain black piercing and started to find the cleaning products. 

"You know, I've never seen you with a girl Louis. Why don't you have a girlfriend? You seem nice and I've known you for a long time but you've always been single." He said, and 

Louis stopped, back facing him, and took a deep breath. He could tell him he's gay , since Zayn already knew since it isn't exactly a secret, but Louis doesn't want to risk Liam hating him. He needed to get his life in check, and he needed Liam's help. 

Louis chuckled, carrying the bottle and cleansing pads over and sitting next to him. "Just guess I haven't found the right girl yet." He sighed. 

'You'll find her someday, man." Louis chuckled, shaking his head but handed the bottle to him. 

"Yeah. The cleansing stuff is free but the piercing will be 3,000 pounds." He glared at him, and Louis held his hands up defensively. 

"Fine. 30 pounds, but only because you're a good mate." Liam shook his head though handed the money,waving and saying a goodbye. Louis leaned against the counter, and couldn't help but smile. You'll find the right girl some day. Yeah, no thanks. 

Louis checked the time before he closed the shop, locking the door and leaning against it. He didn't want to go tonight. He wanted to stay home and read his book and just sleep. The store opened early tomorrow so he couldn't get smashed anyways, it would be pointless. Sighing, Louis rubbed his eyes before grudgingly heading to the stairs. 

He grabbed all his stuff, leaving the door open before turning the shower on. Turning it to scalding hot, he let it warm up. Looking in the mirror, he stripped down to his skivvies. The mirror reflected him, and he smiled a bit but it was more of a sad smile. He was some kind of punk boy, someone who seemed disconnected from the world. 

Sighing, he stepped into the shower laughing bitterly at how ludicrous that was. He may not be the most innocent angel, but he was certainly not a bad influence in the least. He never did drugs, never drank until he was 18, and always used condoms. He did well enough in school and only ditched occasionally, it's not like no ones ditched school before.  
Reaching up, he started washing his hair. The red colour was starting to fade, not that he minded much. He always re-dye it, or maybe he would just leave it as is. He had tried to dye his hair black when he was first out of year 12, but it looked horrid on him. It was probably his second worst hair-decision, first being that fringe he wore that made him look like he was 5. 

Shuddering at the horrid flashback, he started scrubbing his body. He grabbed the razor, starting to shave off the slight hair off him chest a bit. He only trimmed it, since he figured his top would likely come off if he started dancing with someone. He left his bunny trail alone. The line of hair between his naval and crotch, the sexiest line of hair any person could ever have. 

Louis felt throbbing, some of his blood rushing down, and he was half hard. It'd been too long since he had gotten laid. He used to go clubbing every week, but now he is dreading it. Sure, he could easily get off in the bathroom with some guy whose name he'd probably never know, but it's meaningless. He simply see's no point in it anymore. 

Zayn would probably be uncomfortable as well, perhaps more. Louis is sure he wouldn't want any men grinding on him. He would probably just sit at the bar while Louis would end up having to let him sleep in his bath tub before He would wake him up in the morning. He'll be piss drunk and Louis have to deal with a cranky hung over Zayn the whole day. Zayn could sleep for weeks if he'd let him, especially with a hangover. 

Shaking his head Louis washed off, rinsing and making sure to wash everywhere. If he was going clubbing then he was going to look amazing doing so. He stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He lived alone so the towel was more for warmth than to cover him up. It has it's advantage like being able to walk around naked when summer arrives. He grabbed a smaller towel, using it to dry his hair off a bit. 

He looked in the mirror, wondering how to style his hair. He could do it down, or maybe shave the edge for a fresh quiff. Shrugging, he settled for brushing it to the side, putting in a bit of texturing gel. Naturally his hair was thin and straight, which normally didn't bother him, but when he brushed it to the side he needed the texture to keep it in place. It takes a while so he only styles it that way occasionally. 

He walked into his bedroom, grabbing a change of clothes and his box of makeup. He headed to the bathroom again before changing. The outfit consist of a black low-cut shirt that clung tightly to him, matched with a pair of black skinny jeans that clung tightly to his arse and he knew it made it look bigger. 

He pulled on a pair of black TOM's before he started with his makeup. He leaned forward, pulling on his eye to apply the black eyeliner to his waterline. He didn't know when or why he started wearing the eyeliner, but he just seemed to always do it. The makeup does help make his blue eyes pop. He grabbed the lipstick, dabbing a bit of red on his lips and cheeks to make him look sexier. People didn't know these tricks, especially men, so they always flocked to him because he looked sexier like this than any of the other men.  
Louis grabbed a towel, just covering all his makeup on the counter. He would clean it up tomorrow. He grabbed his phone and credit and identification card and put them in his back pocket. He headed downstairs, only to see Zayn knocking on the door. Louis chuckled, thinking he must not have remembered to bring his own key. 

He opened the door for him, but Zayn just grabbed his elbow,"Come on, let's go." 

Louis groaned,"Zayn! It doesn't even open for two hours!" 

He just rolled his eyes, taking Louis to his car. He got in, leaning his head against the window mocking,"Don't even say hello. No, 'Oh Louis, you look great today. How have you been'?" 

He just rolled his eyes again as he started driving,"We'll stop at a fast-food restaurant and grab something so we don't pass out when you're grinding on dicks and I'm making sure you don't get raped." 

Louis nodded. "Sounds good." He hadn't eaten all day. He was too busy with work yesterday too so he hadn't eaten since he had a whole group of teenage girls come in to get their ears pierced and one of them kept making flirty eyes at him, honestly he could've laughed at her failed attempt to seduce him. 

Louis told Zayn the story about how the girl tried to flirt, and he was laughing uncontrollably. For some reason, girls thought Louis was like 'the bad boy' to date. The kind their parents hate. But they only do it for his appearance and obviously he don't fancy the idea of being in a relationship. 

People use people. People are selfish, needy creatures. When you date someone, each person wants something. Whether they want money, or fame, or even just a companion, they always expect something from you. They never just want to be with you because being with you makes them happy. They expect you to be loyal, they expect you to be honest, they expect so much that I would just be a disappointment. Louis doesn't want that kind of relationship, he wants to be loved and to love, not to be used. 

"LOUIS!" He jumped a bit, and Zayn chuckled, "You zoned out a it. We're already half way there, I was just wondering if you could get my phone for me. It fell to the floor."  
He rubbed his eyes gently to avoid smearing the eyeliner before looking down, grabbing it and opening it up. 

"Come on, don't look at my stuff," He whined, but he was driving so Louis just smiled mischievously as he started to go through it. 

He started by looking at the apps he had. Most of them were really stupid drawing apps, but there were a few like Words With Friends and 4 Pictures 1 Word. He then went to his messages. Louis' eyes widened, He had a lot of messages. He grinned mischievously and clicked on the ones from himself, laughing at how hilarious he was. He then saw he was talking to Niall. He was confused, he didn't know they even knew each other. 

Curiosity got the best of him and clicked on it, and started reading through before he opened his mouth, gasping. 

From Niall: Zayny, I miss you XX I miss your big cock  
From Zayn: U can see it tonight. We can sneak in the bathroom  
From Niall: Won't lou be at the club with u?  
From Zayn: He doesn't know ur coming. I just need you  
From Niall: Okay Zaynie, but I need you  
From Zayn: I like when you beg  
From Niall: pleeeassseee zaynie?  
From Zayn: G2g, at Louis' talk later. 

"The fuck?" Louis yelled, shutting the phone off and setting it down. "How do you know Niall?" He asked, crossing his arms. 

"What? Don't go through my shit and don't you dare read those messages." He said, and Louis glared at him. 

He could either mock him endlessly, or he can wait until later and catch him in the act and embarrass him, holding it against him forever. Mr 'I'm-so-straight-Bradford-bad-boi' Malik isn't the straightest edge on the table. Louis chuckled, and just looked out the window. 

Maybe this night wouldn't be as bad as I thought. 

"I hate this place" Louis groaned almost immediately as the thought entered his mind, realizing what place Zayn brought him too. Le Bain. It was pretty popular, but the same people were always here and none of them really were interested him. He sighed, rubbing him head. 

"Come on, it'll be fine." Zayn said, dragging him inside and leading them to the bar. He turned to the whining boy and snickered,"Maybe if we get you drunk first then you'll enjoy yourself a bit more." 

He sighed, allowing Zayn to buy a pint. He looked around, noticing some of the regulars but he also saw a few people he didn't know. Maybe he could have some fun, if he got drunk enough first of course. Louis chugged his first beer, not really stopping till he finished the third. He stood up, waving bye to Zayn. 

Louis was no where near drunk yet, but being tipsy relieved some of the stress. He heard them start playing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' and screamed, "OH MY GOD, THIS IS MY SONG!" He went into the middle of the dance floor, swaying his hips to the rhythm. He mouthed the words, not really caring who was watching. He was enjoying himself and that's all that mattered. 

When he opened my eyes, He was surrounded by men. Since he had a 'feminie' body type, they must have assumed he was a bottom. Louis smirked, going behind one of them and grinding as some dirty rap song started to playing. He's never going to bottom. 

Louis danced, men practically clinging to him. It felt nice, a sense of nostalgia, but it also hurt a bit. He was past this stage in his life. He didn't want to do this every weekend. Spending hours getting ready, preparing for a 3-minute quickie in the glory hole of a bathroom. Louis didn't want to spend 2 hours sweating and panting with strange men grinding on him like some careless whore. 

He just wanted to stay home, and work all day. He didn't want to spend hours trying to get laid or to have a boyfriend. He wasn't like that darned flower-crowned boy. He hadn't been on his mind, so why now? Louis sighed, focusing on moving his hips. 

Harold was probably the boyfriend kind of guy. He probably hasn't even kissed someone. He just seems so damn innocent, it's ridiculous. Louis just wanted to punch him and make him see that he shouldn't look at the world through rose-coloured glasses. He needs to see that the world is brutal, that love is only in fairy tales, and that pain is equivalent to life. 

Sighing in frustration, Louis felt one guy grab his hips from behind, and he turned around, ready to put up a fight. As soon as he turned around, he saw it was Liam. Louis looked up, and Liam's entire face paled. Louis grabbed his wrist, dragging him out of the crowd since he looked like he was about to faint at any second. He silently gave him a sip of his beer, sitting him next to Zayn who was talking to the bartender about some new R and B club down the street. 

"What are you doing here?" Louis yelled over the music, and he took another sip of the drink, before covering his face. 

"I just...I don't...I don't know." He said, the sound muffled by his hands. 

"You break up with Dani and you decide to....what? Recover by coming and grinding on men you don't know?"He looked so innocent, like had is getting scolded by a teacher. It took a lot for Louis not to laugh. He didn't want to embarrass the boy. 

"Just curious." He mumbled, and Louis face palmed. 

"No, curious is when you're in third grade and you kiss your best friend awkwardly to see what it feels like. You're bisexual?" Louis asked, and he gave a shrug and a nod at the same time, so he took it as a yes. 

"Just....Keep away from me. I don't need to see my best mate doing that." Louis gave him one last glance then went back to the crowd, but wasn't too into it anymore. When a guy grabbed his waist, Louis just sighed and let him. 

He continued for a few songs, before whispering into his ea, "Bathroom?" 

Louis turned around, grimacing when he recognized the man. He did that radio show on BBC1, Nick Grimshaw or something like that. Louis checked out his body, before shrugging. He was pretty fit. 

On the way to the bathroom, he threw up so Louis just left him and headed outside. He didn't feel like dealing with this right now. He thought maybe giving this a try would be fun. He would get laid then go back home and finish his book. Now, all he wanted to do was be left alone and not deal with all these idiots. 

Had he really been one of those drunk guys in there only a year ago? He was wasting his life away then. Now, he had goals and a plan and a life. Now, he actually was worth something. He wasn't at the bottom of the scale like a piece of scum. Louis smiled, leaning against the wall. There were a few others outside, smoking or just talking, and he smirked. 

If those people started dating, they would have to tell their children they met at a gay bar. Louis snickered, receiving glares from the people. He responded by giving them the middle finger and reaching into his pocket feeling his phone vibrate. There was a text from Zayn. 

From Zayn:Were u go? 

Louis rolled his eyes, just texting him that he was taking a walk to clear his head. He shoved his hands into my pockets. He began walking, not knowing the neighborhood well enough to go anywhere else. He headed in one direction, just enjoying the fresh air against his skin. He heard a rustle then a scream. louis froze and for some reason he started rushing to where the sound was heard.  


He stopped, turning the corner and covering his face in shock. Harry was lying in a pile of garbage with a black eye and a bruised lip. Louis bent over, touching him. "Are you okay?" He frowned, checking his pulse making sure he was alright.  


He just smiled and spoke quietly,"You look good tonight, Louis."  


"Jesus fucking Christ, you scared the shit out of me." He bent down, picking him up bridal-style. He tugged on his sleeve, and Louis noticed for the first time what he was wearing. 

It was a white sweater but it looked large on him, but he was wearing shorts with it and there was blood all over him. " I'm fine." He said but Louis just carried him straight into the bathroom of the gay bar, pushing past everyone. He even kicked out the two people having sex in there. They glared and rushed out in a hurry.  


"What happened?" Louis asked, after setting the boy on the counter. He grabbing a paper towel wetting it. He dabbed at his cuts on his face, and Harry lightly pushed him away.  


"Could you...P-please...erm...Wipe my stomach?" He lifted his shirt, and he had a huge hole in the middle where blood was slowly trickling out.  


Louis grimaced slightly,"What the hell happened?"  


"I was just...digging through the garbage and some...Some guys who were clearly intoxicated...Did you know drinking is really...Erm...Ow." He said, not making any sense. 

Louis slowly cleaned out the cut, not being as gentle he should have been.  


"Harry!"Louis yelled, when he closed his eyes.  


He jumped a bit, before continuing,"Oh....Right. They said they were looking for some fun...So I asked if they meant like a board game...Then they ripped off my crown and... Broke it. I started crying and the...Guy pulled a knife so I screamed. They must have heard you running."  


Louis looked at him, almost glaring,"Why would you be stupid enough to dig through the rubbish right next to a bar? "  


He sniffled,"I was hungry...Haven't eaten since before I came here."  


Louis frowned,"Then go and buy something from Nando's, not look through the trash!" He mumbled something, and Louis lifted his chin, their faces close together and asked,'What?"  


Harry groaned, and wrapped his hand around Louis' forearm,"Mmm...in pain....But...I don't have money. I just...live off the streets and work for charity."  


He looked at him, lip curling back,"You're such a fucking idiot." Louis yelled, and he just shrugged, turning around and looking in the mirror. "  


Oh....I guess I need to make a new crown." He reached around his curls, pulling out some of the stray flowers.  


Louis looked at him in utter disbelief, "You.....You just got your ass kicked and you're fucking upset over flowers?"  


Harry frowned, "You cuss a lot."  


He looked at him before he started laughing. This boy was such an idiot! He wore flowers on his head and he was almost beaten to death and now he's homeless and all he is worried about is making another crown?  


"Your laugh is pretty, Louis." Harry commented with a smile.  


Louis stopped , remembering what was happening,"Oh, well. We should take you to a hospital."  


He shook his head, the curls having a bit of dirt falling out of them. "I'm fine. M'just a bit bruised is all...." He tried to stand up, but Louis could tell his legs were shaking.  


"Damn it, Styles." He picked him up, this time in a piggy-back.  


Louis headed over to Zayn, only to see him kissing Liam. He covered his face, groaning. Harry leaned his chin on the top of Louis head, and giggled, "D'awwe, they are adorable!"  


Louis would have glared at him, but that would involve moving his head and he felt nice there. "ZAYN!" He yelled over the music, and he turned around and glared at the bloke, blushing a bit. "Can you drive me and Harry back to my place?" Louis explained to him what happened, and he nodded with an understanding look.  


Liam followed. "Is he going to be okay?" He pointed to Harry, who was busy staring at the disco ball on the ceiling. It was more there out of irony than for the actual dancing.  


Louis nodded, saying goodbye and telling him he'll call him when he's sober tomorrow with a hangover. He sat in the back of the car with Harry, holding onto him and making sure he stayed awake. "Why are you doing this?" Zayn asked.  


He sighed loudly. "It's either I watch him over night and he gets well enough to go back to wherever he lives, or he stays too ill to leave here. So."  


The truth was that Louis was worried. His family and him always did little things for charity. Not much, just visiting the hungry on Christmas and donating money for animal shelters. It just felt the need to help someone who needed it. It was just something he had to do.  


They made it back to his place, and Harry was just barely awake. Zayn offered to stay and help, but Louis could tell he was tired as well so he told the raven haired bloke to go home. "We'll be fine. Call you tomorrow." Louis carried Harry up the steps  


"You live and work here.....That's cool." Harry commented.  


Louis chuckled. For being so tall, Harry was actually really light. Louis guess' he was quite lanky.  


He set the boy on his bed, figuring he could sleep on the couch. "This is nice of you...Lou. Very nice but erm....I...I just..."  


Louis patted his head. "It's fine. Just stay awake a bit longer, we don't want you to go into a coma." He smiled, leaning his head against the headboard.  


Louis sat on the edge of the bed asking, "Why are you always so god damn happy? You're homeless, you smell like shit, and you don't even have your flowers."  


His eyes rolled up, as if he had forgotten he wasn't wearing it, "I feel a bit naked without them." He shrugged, before continuing. "Why should I be sad? If I'm sad all the time, I won't be able to enjoy the few things that do make me genuinely happy. But if I'm happy all the time, I can just...Pretend sad things aren't that sad. And besides, because I'm homeless I save thousands of pounds to give to change gay rights."  


Louis rolled his eyes, and Harry just chuckled, "For being...y'know...erm...gay. You don't seem to care that we're in the same boat."  


He shook his head, waving his finger at him, "We are not the same, not at all. No way. Don't even compare me to you in the slightest." He frowned, his lip quivering a bit but Louis just assumed it was because it was bloody and split.  


"We are the same! Don't act like being like me is the worst thing ever. You're obviously a little homophobic-" Louis rolled his eyes, and he glared, "And you don't realize that it isn't okay. You like boys, I like boys. Obviously we don't like each other but I'm determined to make you see that being like me isn't the worst thing you could be. Just because I don't think I'm a bad ass who is above common human decency doesn't mean I'm not as good as you."  


He was shocked, but soon was laughing,"Hun, no one wants to be a little ditsy flower fairy Twink that looks like he is going to puke glitter and rainbows." Louis knew he was being blunt and maybe a bit rude, but something about him just made Louis want to strangle him. He was never particularly violent, but this boy did something to his brain.  


Louis looked over, and he just smiled, closing his eyes,"I'm going to prove to you that I'm not what you think. But right now, I am in a lot of pain and I didn't bring my medicine with me so I need to sleep." He yawned, rolling onto his side. He watched him, noticing how his curls spread all over the pillow.  


He sighed, turning off the light and figuring maybe he should stay and watch him, just in case he did go into a coma. He sat on the chair, watching him for a few moments. His lips parted as soft snores filled the rooms. Louis gave one last glance before closing his own eyes.  


Tomorrow is a new day, hopefully he'd be able to recover and go back to fairy-land. Louis laughed, thinking that was a clever one. He smiled but yawned as well, wondering if they had anything in common at all. As he thought about it for a moment, then he snickered and shook his head.  


No, probably nothing.  


"Louis? Lou?" Louis felt a hand on his arm, shaking him awake a few hours later. He was having a wet dream about that celebrity Natalie Portman. Not his type, but she was quite fit even if he's gay. Louis groaned, pushing the person's hand away, not even opening his eyes when he heard a thump.  


"Quiet, Zayn. Sleep is nice." he mumbled, incoherently, but his eyes shot open when he heard crying noises.  


"What?" He rubbed his head, before remembering last night, "Oh shit." He rushed over, bending beside Harry who had tears streaming down his face.  


"Not to-be a b-bother but you ripped the cut open and.... Do you have...." He was breathing heavy, and Louis was really worried. He pushed the curls away from his face, waiting for him to try and get the words out.  


"Paper bag. Tylenol. Asthma. Pain." He said, and Louis rushed around, trying to find something. He came back with 3 aspirin, but gave him the paper bag first. He breathed into it, sucking the air in, then out.  


Louis put his hand on his pulse, and relaxed a bit as it slowed back down to a normal pace. "So fucking sorry."  


He sucked in a few breaths more, before sitting up, taking the aspirin. "You cuss too much." He said, and Louis just laughed. This boy never had his priorities straight. "S-sorry for being..dramatic. I was just...It hurts. I should go though... Have to go to the....shower place..." When he tried to stand up, Louis gently pushed his shoulders down to keep him down.  


"You can use my shower. Just, let me help you?" Louis groaned, not wanting to do this but Harry couldn't stand on his own for too long. It was possible he would pass out or have an asthma attack if he was in the shower too long.  


"But.....You'll see my...My...." Harry trailed off.  


Louis rolled his eyes at the childish boy, "I'll see your dick. Come on, how old are you?"  


He blushed, laughing a bit, before coughing. He gave Louis a look that showed me he was serious, so he just rolled his eyes, "I promise I won't sexually assault you. I won't even look at your small dick."  


Harry laughed loudly, "You're so crude!"  


Louis just shrugged, before standing up and helping the boy to his feet. He practically had to carry him to the bathroom, and he could see the blood staining his now stained white sweater. The fresh red blood mixed with the stained brown blood.  


Louis leaned him back against the counter, making sure he didn't look at himself in the mirror. He looked like a mess. Dirt and blood everywhere, and he was shaking like a small puppy. Louis pitied the boy. He pulled the sweater over his shoulder, his eyes immediately being drawn to the hole where he had been stabbed. Louis gingerly touched it, peeling some of the last bits of dirt away from it, not wanting him to wash it into the cut. Harry winced slightly, but Louis knew he had to do it or he could get infected.  


After that, Louis' eyes wandered, but for different reasons. He had a decent body. Wasn't the best he's seen, but it was pretty fit. Not like Natalie Portmans though. (For a gay man, he was ridiculously attracted to Natalie Portman.) His abs were flat, but his v-bones on his hips were really prominent. It wasn't defined like a bodybuilder, but it wasn't flat either. It was kinda hot. Louis shook his head, reminding himself to get this over with so harry could get out of his life.  


"Hold your head up, this is going to hurt a lot. "Louis unzipped his pants, and then heard him whimper. It was clear he had twisted his ankle, probably when he tripped over something trying to get away from the boys last night. Louis looked down at it, and it wasn't swelled which was a good sign.  


"Don't look at my privates, please. Don't want to waste my innocence."  


He glanced up at Harry, shocked, but he wasn't paying attention to Louis. He was staring up at the ceiling, taking deep breaths. Louis wondered if he was still having trouble breathing. He pulled down his white briefs, which were clinging tightly to him. They were dirty, but at least he hadn't wet himself. Louis pulled them down, and he saw Harry try to cover himself, but the pain became too much so he relaxed his arms at his side.  


Louis ignored his naked figure and grabbed him by the shoulders, supporting him as he lead him over to the shower. "How about a bath?" he suggested, receiving just gave a small nod of approval. He helped him step his foot over, noticing him flinch in agony. Louis told him to curl up. The bathtub wasn't that large, it was't supposed to be used for baths, only showers, but he figured Harry didn't need to know that.  


Turning on the cold water Louis turned looking at him. He had that dumb smile on his face, the one with the dimples that looked like craters on the moon because they were so large. "I like cold showers." He said, which just made Louis groan.  


"You're an idiot. " He chuckled, and knelled on the outside of the shower, noticing how he kept scratching his hair.  


"When was the last time you showered?" He gave a small shrug, but Louis waited him for the answer, he was pretty stubborn.  


"I guess it's been like a month and a half....I guess I just forgot. I'm always traveling and walking places and I had a lot of meetings in schools and I just... Forgot." Louis cringed. He hated being dirty. He had to shower every day, sometimes twice a day or else i'd feel filthy. He didn't know if he could even last two days without being at least rinsed off.  


He handed Harry the shampoo, and the smile widened, if that was possible. "Stop smiling like that." Louis complained, and he just smiled wider, closing his eyes. He looked like...Like a cupcake. He somehow looks like a cupcake being all grinny and giddy.  


"I use the same shampoo." He announced as if it was the most exciting thing on earth.  


Louis wagged his finger at him, "No. See, this is for straight hair."  


He shrugged,"I know...Sometimes I like to pretend my hair is straight" He giggled, and despite that being the dumbest thing Louis has ever heard, he smiled along too. His happiness was almost contagious, like a disease or some infection.  


Louis poured some shampoo into his hand, and started washing his hair. Harry closed his eyes, and Louis was being extra careful because he didn't need any extra pain. He ran his fingers through his hair, the dirt all getting onto his hands so he had to keep rinsing them. Louis finally had it all soapy and foamy, and he had to make him lean forward. He knew it hurt, but he just obliged with a smile. "Submissive little bitch" Louis mumbled under his breath.  


He then started washing it again, and he pouted, "Why use shampoo twice?"  


Louis just rolled his eyes, not caring that he couldn't see,"Your hair is disgusting and I don't want it to have to look at a greasy mess all day." His smile wavered, flickering before it was gone. He looked weird without a smile.  


Louis then pushed him, playfully. "Kidding, just don't want you to get lice." He said, hoping it would cheer him up, but all he got was a close-mouthed smile in response. Louis sighed, as he rinsed it out again, and leaned forward to smell it. It smelled like tea and He just loved it. The scent was so thrillingly intoxicating.  


Louis smiled to himself before grabbing the conditioner,"Now listen, I have medical body wash. Do you think you can wash yourself?"  


He grimaced, but nodded. "I could do this all by myself, but I appreciate you helping." He took the body wash from Louis, and him bite his lip roughly as he started washing his own. He didn't look good when he was in pain. His face was scrunched up as he winced slightly. He was obviously trying his hardest, which made Louis have a bit more respect for the boy.  


Louis grabbed the soap from his hand, Harry turning to look at him. "I'll do it, alright? I don't want to hurt you." his voice softened, as he slowly started washing him. He scrubbed all over, making sure to cleanse out his cuts. He was so much more bruised now that it had been a while, so Louis smiled, looking down at him. He was brave.  


Maybe that was one thing we had in common. But that was it, nothing else.  


After Harry had showered, he said the pills were making him tired so he went right to sleep. Louis told him that he couldn't stay beside him because he needed to open the store, but Louis gave him my phone number if he needed him and besides, Louis was only a few steps away. Now though, Louis was currently downstairs, piercing a 12 year old's ear, getting bombarded with questions by the girls mother.  


"Are you sure it's sanitary? She asked for the hundredth time, so he politely smiled and said "Would you like to watch me sanitize it?" She nodded, and Louis could hear her let out her breath. He grabbed the bleach wipe, wiping it down extra carefully, making sure she would have nothing to complain about.  


Once he did, he then showed her the earrings that her daughter chose. They were just plain diamond studs, but they were tiny and very classic. Her mom kept asking "Are you sure you don't want pink?" And the daughter kept rolling her eyes and saying "I don't even like pink." Louis tried not to laugh at how ridiculous the mother was being, but it was getting more difficult by the moment.  


"You can hold her hand now, I'm about to pierce it. Would you like both ears at the same time or one at a time?" Louis said, directing the words right to the daughter who looked grateful. She said "One at a time, please." He just nodded, and wiped her ear off quickly, since that part didn't matter Her mother grabbed her hand, and Louis saw the smallest glimpse of fear in the girls' eyes, but that was normal.  


He always had teenage girls coming to get their ears pierced. He didn't mind but they all just seemed to do it because it was something girls their age did. Louis didn't even know if anyone of them actually liked earrings, or if they even changed earrings or left the studs in. His own sister had worn the same studs until she was 16 and wearing earrings became important to her, and even she admitted she hadn't really cared about them before then.  


Louis sighed, and pierced the needle in the girls ear, and she didn't even flinch. He chuckled, and did the other one before she even noticed. "Is that it?" She asked, and smiled, knowing exactly what would happen. After her mother payed for the cleaning products, the girl left the store bragging about how she didn't even cry.  


The older boy laughed then but stopped when he heard yelling upstairs. It was Harry, and Louis could hear from here that he was in pain, but also must be talking on the phone. He kept groaning, and his voice sounded as if it were ready to stop. Looking outside, Lou figured if a customer came in they could wait a couple minutes. He put a sign on the desk that said 'Be back in five" before sprinting up the steps.  


Harry was sitting on the chair now, wrapped in Louis' blanket. He looked so young, in a good way. Sort of like a small child cuddled up on a Saturday morning. Louis smiled, standing in the doorway and watching him for a moment. He was texting angrily, his large fingers fumbling a lot but he could tell he was determined at what he was saying. His brows furrowed as his lips were pursed. Louis finally walked in, and he looked up.  


"Sorry for moving the the-" Harry let out a cough before continuing,"chair, I just...Didn't think..."  


He held his hand up, smiling at him and sitting on the bed, facing Harry, "It's fine, make yourself comfortable. Who were you just on the phone with?"  


He looked confused for a moment before he blushed, rubbing his cheeks asking sheepishly,"Was I that loud?"  


Louis shrugged, just waiting for him to answer him. He sighed, sitting up a bit more and coughing, "This....This kid I've been sponsoring...Back in my hometown of Cheshire...He was running the LGBT in Holmes Chapel, and...." He looked at me, and there was no sense of smile. There was no happy giggling and no flower crown and no sugar coating it.Louis' brows furrowed, this boy wasn't the boy from before. He was giddy and cheerful, he looked broken and sad.  


"He....He shot up the school before killing himself. Luckily everyone survived...E-except him...." Harry had tears welling up in his eyes, so Louis did the only thing he could. He pulled the boy onto his lap, letting him cry his eyes out into him. He sobbed, but soon Louis could tell he was having trouble breathing. His breath was ragged, so he had to help him sit up, giving him the bag.  


He stopped sobbing, but the tears rolled down his face. He used the sleeves of Louis' old hoody that said Doncaster on it, and wiped the tears before he gave me a small smile,"He was going to run for president some day and now....Now....." He took a deep breath, and Louis thought that he had broken. He thought that he was going to admit that life sucks and that he has been wrong.  


"I guess I just have to work harder and try to get people to be even nicer to the LGBT community. I'll have to go home sooner than I thought...Probably today even to help with the support group." Louis sat there, watching Harry smile through the tears, his eyes widened before he has had enough.  


"HOW CAN YOU STILL BE SO DAMN CHEERY?" He yelled, and Harry looked completely shocked as Louis continued,"HOW CAN YOU EVEN SMILE RIGHT NOW? A CHILD JUST SHOT UP A SCHOOL, THAT IS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN!" Louis curled his hands into fists, and was just shaking with so much built-up anger. His breath ragged as face becoming red. This was just too much.  


"It could have been prevented." He whispered.  


Louis looked at him,"What!?"  


He looked Louis right in the eyes and said "It could have been prevented. Children dying of cancer is sad, because we can't control it. Children falling off cliffs, it's just an accident, couldn't have been prevented. But this kid, this bright, intelligent kid shooting the school, could have been prevented. I will do everything I can to try and make every single one of those kids and parents at that school to smile. I will do everything to make them feel comfortable and not form an even more bias opinion on gay rights. But I will in no way shame this boy, because he was the one who has been bullied every day, sometimes being raped by the boys on the football team."  


Louis looked at him, and it was his time to have tears falling down his cheeks,"It could have been prevented..." Louis whispered, finally understanding what this boy has been trying to say. He cleared his throat, getting rid of the tears and sighing,"Do you think those kids will be okay?" He nodded, pulling him close and hugging the shorter boy.  
"You're going to be okay too, Louis." And Louis hadn't even realized how not okay he was until Harry whispered those words to him.  


"Are you sure it can't wait till tomorrow?" Louis asked, leaning against the counter as Harry pulled on the jacket he let him borrow. He was limping, and he could barely talk without having an asthma attack, but yet he still insisted he needed to go home to help them.  


"I have to. They need me, I'm sure everything will be in turmoil." He coughed, having to rip at the wall to keep his balance. Everything in Loui's body was shouting at his mind 'don't let him leave', but what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to ask him to stay when something so important and time-crucial was happening back at his hometown. Harry wouldn't stay anyways, he has to help, it's who he is.  


He watched him try to bend over to put on his shoes, but that's when he couldn't take it. Louis ran over, getting onto his knees. He lifted his foot, helping him slip into one of his own pairs of flip flops. He had bandaged his ankle, but he needed to get a cast or else it would just break ever more. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned, however he didn't mind .  


Louis helped him, noticing how his feet were rough and dry, unlike his. Louis' feet were soft and smooth but he must admit they smelled. TOM's aren't they best shoes when it comes to odor, but Louis loved them too much to care. Harry looked down at him, giving me a wide grin, "Thanks, Louis. That was really nice of you." He leaned his head on the door, grimacing as he lifted the broken foot to slip into the shoe.  


Louis sent him an apologetic smile as he stood up, and embraced the taller boy lightly,"I hope everything turns out fine...And I really hope that you can change just a little bit of the world." He said, pushing his hair out of his face. He looked shocked that Louis wasn't being rude to him, but he also looked geniunely pleased.  


"And I hope you take a minute to smile at a stranger, or to read a book or have a midnight cup of tea." He said, and Louis couldn't help but laugh. However he nodded, though knew his life wouldn't change that much without him here. Louis would go back to working, not caring or stopping to enjoy the little things. His life would remain shitty and boring as ever.  


Harry sent him one last dimpled smile, before he walked out, the bell on top of the door ringing as he did so. Louis sat there, staring at the door that closed, now with no one standing there. He was gone. He would never see him again. He wouldn't see that obnoxious flower crown. He wouldn't have to listen to him talk about how everything in the world was perfect and dandy.  


He wouldn't get to see his beautiful green eyes. He wouldn't hear his contagious laugh, or get to tuck him in to bed. He sighed, leaning his head back before walking over and sitting on the tattoo chair, reclining it until he was almost laying back. He looked at the empty ceiling. It's sort of reminded him or his life; Blank, bland, and boring. So many thoughts were going through Louis' head.  


Why couldn't he be happy? He had his own business, and sisters who loved him. He wasn't starving or homeless. He wasn't bullied. He was healthy, decent looking, and wasn't struggling financially too much. He was just living a normal life. He should be happy, he should be having fun. He should be hanging with Zayn or Liam or even Niall. He shouldn't be spending all my time sitting in my own tattoo parlour, disconnected from the world. It's as if the world wants him unhappy.  


He needed to do something. He needed to do anything. He wanted to go see his sisters, he wanted to go partying with Niall and get drunk with Liam. He wanted to travel the world, wanted to help the less fortunate. He wanted to just do something other then sit here and waste his life away. Most of all, He wanted to be happy. He isn't happy, he feels like he's wasting away each day. He suddenly sat up in the chair, throwing his coat on.  


Louis was heading to the door, but it was thrown open and before he could understand anything, Harry had his hands on his hips, kissing Louis with those plump soft lips. He was being gentle, but sparks were felt. Louis never met anyone who was such a great kisser. His lips tasted of heaven and felt perfect against him. Harry pulled away panting slightly, and Louis looked at him, shocked, though not appalled.  


"I just....I really think you need to smile. I couldn't leave without telling you that we have a lot in common. I love tattoos. I love your shoes. And most importantly, we both don't judge people. You judged me, I judged you, but when we stop judging each other we're the same." And with those last words, he was gone.  


And Louis realizes that was the first day he ever went to the store and bought a vase of flowers just to make his apartment look a little happier. Louis went to the store a few weeks after Harry was gone, and bought a damn vase with actual fucking flowers and it was now sitting on top of his kitchen table and it looked so wrong but, in a good way?  


Louis wasn't home now, though.  


"Mum, I'm gay." Louis said now, staring right into the shocked face of the person who had raised him. He doesn't really know how he ended up here at 6 pm on a Sunday, but apparently when you get in a car and drive without purpose, he assumes his heart just led him to where he needed to be. He let out a breath after saying it, and sat down on the chair across from her, relaxing a bit now that the hard part was over with. It's like a weight lifted from his shoulders, a weight that has been on him for years.  


Louis doesn't know why he felt the sudden urge to confess this to his mother. He thinks it was because of that curly-haired bastard. Louis hasn't seen or heard from him in a month, but he kept seeing that dimpled smile in his dreams and he kept hearing his obnoxiously optimistic messages in his mind. The boy was truly haunting him, though Louis honestly doesn't care. If anything he enjoyed seeing the boy, even if it was in a dream.  


Normally he didn't mind being 'in the closet' around his family, because what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. But thinking how happy Harry was with being openly gay made Louis think that maybe he shouldn't always acting like being gay is a part of him that he shouldn't share with people. He has to be open with them, like how they are with him.  


"I know." She said, sighing and sitting up straighter in her seat.  


"WHAT?" Louis yelled, and she jumped a bit, telling him not to interrupt the girls doing their schoolwork in the living room. "But...How?!" His eyes were large in shock, and he was honestly confused. He had always thought she had no clue at all and was worried about giving her a heart attack or something.  


"I'm your mum, first of all. I know everything. Everything" She pointed her finger at him, giving her son a knowing glare before continuing, "Second of all, you've never talked about girls."  


Louis frowned arguing, "I haven't talked about boys either."  


She shook her head, "But I could see you looking at them, ever since you were a little boy. You're probably too young to remember, but there was an old telly series where two guys kissed for some reason, and you made me replay it three times because you were so happy that two boys could kiss the same way a boy and girl could."  


Louis rubbed his eyes, and she walked across the table, bending down and lifting his chin as she told him softly,"You know...In the bible they say not to judge and that god loves everyone. I know some of the people in this town seem to forget that part of the bible-" She said referring to how they judged him by his tattoos "-but I still love you and I'm not going to let anyone say any shit or I'll sass them out."  


He laughed, standing up and hugging her tightly. "Thank you so much...." Before He knew it, He had a few tears streaming down his face as he hugged her tighter. She rubbed his back, and Louis realized this was the first time they had hugged in a while. The thought just made more tears fall. He had always blamed her for that, but maybe he was the hesitant one. Maybe he was the one who had purposely distanced himself from her in fear of rejection. Maybe that's what he always did. He feared so much in his life of what people thought that he's been pushing everyone away. But not for long.  


She pulled back, grabbing a tissue and wiping his eyes. "You aren't wearing your eyeliner" She commented with grin.  


He gave her a smile. "Harry said he liked my natural side," Then muttered under his breath," the cheeky bastard."  


She raised her eyebrows. "Harry? Is he your...boyfriend?"  


Louis gave a half-smile, and it was in that moment he realized that that is exactly what he wanted. "Not yet."  


His mum smiled then informed she had to go tuck his little sisters in. Louis sat at the table and for some reason he couldn't stop smiling. He's realized that he's been smiling so much this month that he thought the grin would permanently stick to his face. Louis' done a lot of things this month that before, hr would have thought were dumb or pointless or even ridiculous.  


Louis had bought flowers and put them all throughout his house and shop as soon as he got home. Not the kind in a vase, no, those died too quickly. (He realized this after the ones on his table died because, as Zayn informed him, apparently even plants in vase need water.) He bought plants and planted them in planters. He had spent three hours with his hands covered in dirt just so the place could be a bit more cheerier than it was before. The smell of the flowers filled the area and would always make the customers feel more comfortable.  


He had went through all his clothes, giving away HALF of them! He had even given away some of his favourite shirts, and hesitantly a few pairs of brand name TOM's to the local charity. He whistled while he worked or paid the bills. He's started playing cheery Indie music in the tattoo parlour as he gave piercing or tattoo's ignoring the weird looks. Louis stopped hiding his eyes behind makeup, and let his nose piercing close up, thinking he didn't need to hide behind all these piercings either -but he couldn't give up on his lip ring yet, he loved it too much. Louis was beginning to be his old self- his true self.  


Though, Louis thought the most important thing of all is he started a LGBT group at his old high school. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. There's never been one at the school, and the president was a bit hesitant until Louis reminded him of that girl who had killed herself because she hadn't had a safe place. He quickly agreed, knowing that suicide should be prevented.  


They met twice a week, and there were only 3 students in it but he was glad to give them a safe place to talk about what they were going through. There was a girl, who was transgender. She was born a boy but she's always known it was wrong. She just felt like she didn't belong in her body. Then there was a boy who was a senior. He didn't talk much, but he had once told Louis when we were alone that he had two dads. The third student was a bi-sexual girl who was...Overly sexual and kept trying to seduce Louis despite him being too old and gay. Honestly, she was pretty much just too hormonal and horny, but he decided not to judge.  


Louis looked around the kitchen, thinking back to his kitchen at home where he grew up, where he had his first gay make out session, where he brought his male prom date, though lied saying they were going as friends. Where so many sentimental things happened, but now seem so unimportant. He let out a sigh, and just smiled,leaning back in his chair and thought about Harry.  


He knew he was probably busy,all he kept hearing about on the news was how disgusting the kid who shot up the place was. That was all anyone seemed to notice, and he knew that if he hadn't known Harry he would be blaming the gay kid too, but no one in the media even recognized that the kid was gay. They were more worried about how he shot up the place then to go deeper into the story.  


But then about a week ago, Harry finally did an interview about the subject. He was wearing a light green flower crown- which Louis may or may not have noticed made his eyes look even more green- and jeans with a shirt that said 'Some dudes marry dudes, get over it.'. Louis chuckled, thinking how the shirt was cheeky but Harry probably didn't even notice. He was always quite oblivious to things.  


"The media is disgusting, sometimes I'm ashamed to be a part of it." Louis remembers him saying that before he even got into the subject of the shooting. The way he spoke was so articulate, enunciating his words and making sure to say things properly and sounded formal. It was so much different then his normal speaking voice.  


His normal speaking voice was slow, and deep. He stammered a lot, especially over smaller words. He would say 'um' a lot and it never sounded like he was completely sure of what he was saying. He talked nonsense and drabble and he would repeat things for no apparent reason, but Louis still loved talking to him. Harry would speak so confidently and always said what was on his mind and give his opinions on things. Louis loved that about him.  


"I've been trying to keep up with all the news reports and all the articles and video tapes....But you guys don't care about the before. You don't care what lead up to this kid being driven over the brink of insanity." He started showing pictures of the boy that had clearly been taken at a hospital.  


"The media is going to take this story and stretch it and make it seem like things it wasn't, all because this kid is a straight-A student who's star baseball player with a promising career, and I'm not talking about the shooter. I'm talking about the shooter's rapist. He was raped, repeatedly, by many members of the baseball team. Don't say it didn't happen, and don't deny it. I saw it with my own eyes, and I was there with this boy as he sat in the hospital, crying and too scared for me to even hug him. to comfort him.  


He didn't press charges in fear that everyone would judge him when they find out or the baseball players would hurt him worse. But you know what? People need to know! THEY HAVE TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T FAKE THIS!" Louis remembered the news zooming in a picture of the kid laying bruised on a hospital bed. He looked so battered and broken.  


He shut it off at that point, and he just remember thinking how he could have been that kid. Maybe he was that kid. No, he hadn't been raped or bullied or shot up a school. But he had screwed over society when they made him feel ashamed of being gay. He'd rebelled and wore eyeliner and piercings and drank a bit and did all these awful things.  


Louis sighed, rubbing his head and pulling his phone out. He looked at the only picture he had of Harry on here. It was a picture he had taken of himself, a selfie of him. He was making the duck face and a peace sign, but for some reason it wasn't annoying. It was adorable. He was adorable. With his stupid flower crowns and adorable dimples. Louis closed his eyes, and only one thought was on his mind.  


He has to go see Harry.  
_ 

Harry's Sitting in the garden outside of the school, he couldn't help but feel like this was all pointless. He had just had to try and comfort parents whose kids could have been killed and try to explain that they shouldn't blame the kid for shooting the place. We had to blame society for forcing him there in the first place. Harry couldn't help but relate to the boy, thinking back to one of the most important and worst moments of his life.  


"Come out of their, faggot" The words were shouted by the same group of girls who had been bullying Harry since the first day of pre-school. They've broken more than half of his flower crowns, and they just keep trying to break his spirit. Harry, however, wouldn't let them, and every time He smiled he felt a little better that he hadn't let them get to him.  


Until this point. They had chased him around school, until he was forced to lock himself into the janitors closet. It was dark, but bright enough to be able to see his surroundings and not fall. The room was small and he couldn't help but feel a slight claustrophobic. He had dropped his flower-crown while running, and felt a bit less confident without it. He couldn't take this.  


Every day, being told that he was worthless, that he should just kill myself. It's like they were trying to force him to break. To cry and do as told, taking his own life. Maybe that's what they wanted all along. Not to prove a point, not to say that being gay is bad, but that being gay is NOT tolerated in the slightest and anyone who was gay obviously is a psychopath.  


Slowly, he turned around, unlocking the door. One of the girls pulled it open wide, as fast as she could, while another girl came charging towards the curly haired boy. As she stepped closer, he glared lifting his fist and punched her across the face. She fell to the floor, everyone around the stopping to look down at her in utter shock.  


Harry looked down at his shaking hand, and suddenly felt all the anger of being bullied all these years building up. He's not a robot. He can enjoy the happy things and try to smile, but he's not oblivious to the pain. He's not a doll, he has emotions, and not all of them are as positive as he wishes they were.  


He suddenly started screaming, as loud as he could for as long as he could. "You want me to be a fucking monster? Do you want me to be dead? Is that what you all want so bad that you can't even fathom the idea of me being a better person than you? The fact that I like boys and boys like me more than you sometimes gives you no right to take away my privilege to life!  


You cannot force me to follow your belief that being gay isn't a human privilege, because fuck it, I LOVE being gay. I could suck cock all day if I felt like it, and it makes NO DIFFERENCE to you! So why don't you think about this when I'm dead? Think about that when you stand over the grave stone that says 'Rest in Peace Edward Styles' and you realize that hey, maybe I actually am a better person than you!  


And maybe, you're all just ignorant! So LEAVE ME ALONE AND LEAVE EVERY OTHER GAY PERSON ALONE BECAUSE ALL WE WANT IS TO BE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!" They all turned, everyone paling in shock. He had never yelled, and he was practically shaking with anger. His eyes radiating into a dark fierce green unlike his usual cheerful color. He ran out of there, and that was the last time anyone saw Edward Styles.  


Shaking his head, Harry stood up in the present time, a small smile forming on his pink lip as he added a bright coloured flower to the middle of his white flower-crown. Heading down the street, he stoppd a couple times to pet a dog, or talk to some old couple sitting on their lawn. He smiled at a guy who's pants were around his ankles and seemed down on life. He gave thirty pounds to a homeless guy who he also gave his pair of shoes too.  


Harry was now wearing black socks, matching his outfit for the day. He didn't mind walking barefoot as long as he helped the man. He had chosen to wear his nicest suit, which was all natural material. It was black jeans that clung to his legs as tight as possible, paired with a grey sweater. He threw a black jacket over it, sort of in a blazer type fashion. As he continued walking, he looked up at the sign as soon as he got there.  


"Resolution Funeral Home"  


Harry looked down at the small sign, his breath catching in his throat as he read tje name on the board. The viewing was for a few hours, but he knew no one would show up except his parents. When he walked in, Harry spotted them huddled together in the corner, both of them crying and it was a bit shocking they could still breathe. Their sobs were rapid and it broke Harry's heart seeing them in this condition.  


"I am so sorry for your loss, your son was a wonderful person who I got to know closely over the years. He was making a difference in the world, and the world is going to have a wonderful little angel watching over us from now on." They looked at Harry as he gave a sad smile, before sobbing harder. His mother stood up first, pulling him tightly into her embrace.  


"Th-thank you so much.....I don't.....He was such a bright boy. We never thought...If we would have known...-"  


He cut her off, shaking his head and pulling back to look directly into her eyes. "You listen to me, and listen to every single word I say because I mean every single one of them." He waited for confirmation that she was listening before continuing,"It is not your fault, not in the slightest. You supported him, and when he came out you continued to love him. You stayed by his side, even if you guys did have a few rough patches. He never would have let it show how bad the bullying was, even if he was bleeding and crying, he would do his best so you two didn't hurt. So just remember he loves you, and that this means everything to him that even when he almost killed everyone, you still know he was good-hearted." They nodded with tears streaming down their faces, both going back into their own embrace.  


Harry stepped back giving them privacy, before heading towards the direction of the casket. He kept his gaze downwards, until he got there, not thinking he would be able to handle it. Harry wanted him to know that he still loved him. He was like a son, someone who he taught everything to. He closed his eyes, the tears falling for the first time since Edward 'died'. Sure, he's teared up or cried from pain, but now Harry was fully crying. The tears poured out streaming down freely, and he didn't bother to wipe at them.  


The dead boy was wearing a light grey suit, with a matching pink tie. He smiled through the watery tears, remembering how he said when he got married he would wear grey and pink, and his husband would wear grey and purple. Harry saw him wear the flower crown, and his breath caught in his throat.  


"I think it's the best thing ever, y'know? I wish I could wear it all the time, but kids would bully me. " His voice ringed in Harry's head as he remember how he always stole his crowns, not that he minded.  


"You can wear all the flower-crowns you want when you're flying with the angels, and you'll be the brightest one." Harry reached down, brushing his hair out of his face before taking a step back to stare at him from a distance.  


Harry felt a soft pair of hands grab his, as their fingers laced together. He sobbed out a shaky breath before turning around, and looking at him. Louis, Louis was here. He came here. Louis was here for the funeral. Louis came to the funeral to support Harry and to support the boy's tragic death.  


Harry eyed him from the bottom up. He was wearing his usual TOMs, but he also was wearing slack pants that looked quite formal. It was strange seeing Louis in such a fancy outfit. His hand tightened on his, but Harry just continued observing how the clothes fit to his body. He was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket thrown over it. He looked so casual, but quite respectful. When he finally saw Louis' face, he knew that this wasn't just him falling for the boy.  


This wasn't just his mind begging that he wouldn't be alone anymore. It wasn't him being desperate. It wasn't him being a loser. It was just Harry being with the one he loved. Louis loved him back, he could tell by the smirk in his pink lips and the fact that he showed up. But the reason that Harry is 100% knew that Louis was desperately, madly in love with him?  


He was wearing a flower crown.  
_ 

"I swear to god Harry, you are the most embarrassing father I have ever met! Why the hell do I love you so much?" Louis chuckled, squeezing his hand and sneaking a quick kiss before jumping up in his seat to yell at the referee.  


"Oh come on, he didn't even go near the ball!" Their daughter giggled, and Louis looked down at her.  


They had to get a surrogate mother, and it has taken them almost ten years, but they were married with two children, debating having a third. Their daughter, Harriet, was sitting on the bleacher next to them while their son, Lewis , was out on the field. Louis snicked, loving that they had convinced him to name their children after time.  


Harriet was 6, but she was definitely a lot like Louis. She was loud-mouthed and cheeky, and she loved to use the f-word. She'd say it in public and Harry would profusely apologize, but Louis would always give her a high-five behind her back. She often said Daddy, which was Harry, was cuter than Louis, Dad, who was more cool than cute, which he didn't mind her saying at all. Though she was a lot like Louis, she also loved Harry just as much.  


Louis brushed her hair out of her face, smiling softly. She had the brightest blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair. She had a light dusting of freckles across her cheeks, and she was really tall for her age. She loved to wear some of Louis old shirts, but she had Harry sew them so they were a dress on her. On the first day of school she had worn in one of his old Quiet Riot shirts with skulls and blood all over it with a matching green flower-crown that was Harry's.  


She didn't like the flower-crowns or wear them that often, but she said she missed Harry and it reminded him of her. She'd made tons of friends on her first day, but her teacher had had to call her parents multiple times because she has gotten in trouble for being a bit bossy. "I wonder who he gets that from" Harry had glared at Louis, but they both explained it to her calmly to be nice. The girl was quite troublesome, however she was a sweetheart when she had her moments.  


Lewis on the other hand was absolutely obsessed with Harry's flower-crowns. They loved making them together, wearing them out in public and embarrassing Louis and Harriet. Lewis was ten, almost eleven, and he was the star of the football team. He played goalie, and he rarely ever let the other team score. So, you could say he is a bit cocky.  


He had black hair, which he let grow out a big, long, and messy. He had bright eyes, but they changed from brown to green. He always wore jeans with a pink shirt and a flower-crown, and both Louis and even Harry were a bit shocked that he'd never been bullied. "Why would they bully me? I'm the one with all the girls hanging on my arm." Louis could tell he definitely got Harry's charm with the ladies.  


Louis looked over Harriet's head, smiling at Harry. He had started getting grey hair, something he teased him about endlessly but he refused to dye it. He had aged nicely, but he still was as vibrant as ever. He still worked a lot, travelling, but the kids understood he needed to do it so that people like them could stay married.  


The family all lived in the building next to Louis' tattoo shop, which used to be some kind of hard ward store but Harry and Louis had changed it into a house. It was a bit small, but they all appreciated the closeness. they would had family night once a week, which usually ended with Harriet and Lewis fighting over watching the Letters to Juliet or the Avengers. Harry and Louis would just chuckling at their children and end up watching both.  


"Well, no harm done."He said as Lewis got put on the bench, and Louis had a flashback to the first time they met in person. He had said that to Louis when they were fighting over some tattoo he gave some girl a long time ago. He remembered her, sighing.  


It may seem rude, but if it wasn't for her having cancer Louis would have never given her the tattoo and Harry and Louis wouldn't have met. Louis would still be a stubborn in the closet boy, and neither of them would've seen life in a different perspective. It's as if Annabelle was their angel that brought them together.  


They had went to her funeral together, and it had been tragic, in a different way than the boy's death.. That had been the day Louis proposed to Harry, leading to them getting their first couple tattoo. Harry got two swallows on his chest, and Louis got a bird on his arm. To others it looked meaningless, but to them it meant everything.  


"No harm done." Louis whispered back, smiling

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are a pleasure.


End file.
